Ctrip encountered siege

Abstract: In Ctrip 500 million U.S. dollars to provoke the price after the war, a week with the network, where to go to the network (micro-BO) successive moves, online tourism market for a moment mutation. This is in the electric business industry, is a rare calm field, finally also involved in the price war entanglement

In Ctrip 500 million U.S. dollars to provoke the price after the war, a week with the network, where to go to the network (micro-bo) successively, online tourism market mutation. This in the electric business industry, is the rare calm field, finally also involved in the price war entanglement.

Ctrip become the target, competitors eyeing, the intention to challenge the status of the industry Big Brother. Along with the price platform, traditional electric dealers, and even hotels and travel agencies to build their own web site step by step, to Ctrip as the representative of China's online travel agent (OTA) model encounter siege.

Ctrip's ups and downs of performance, not just a company story, it is China over the past few years o ta mode of survival environment sudden abrupt example.

Ctrip encountered siege

One weeks ago, Ctrip announced its first large-scale promotional campaign since 12, investing 500 million dollars (about 3.2 billion yuan) for a one-year low price promotion.

5 days later, with Cheng 90 million, advanced OTA "price war". 4 days later, where to go the network announced investment of 30 million U.S. dollars (about 200 million RMB) to create a tourism intelligent service platform, to all tourism online suppliers free of charge to open its tourism service platform.

A blink of an eye, the price war has been fast spread, and look back in the past year, Ctrip is a siege. Peers even put these attitudes directly into the advertising language. Art Dragon's advertisement writes: "The art Dragon buys the summer storm to come!" Ctrip buy No, we have, Ctrip buy some, we all hit 90 percent before minus 1 yuan! Although we are not the first to start a price war, but since the price war, we will fight to the end of the blood!

and Ctrip compared to the field of OTA competitors in the past year have been alongside the "Big Spender." First, the Art dragon by Tencent 84.4 million dollar capital injection, become the second largest shareholder, and then get Tencent tens of millions of dollars of investment. In addition, the travel search engine to where the net was Baidu (micro-Bo) shares, Taobao, Jingdong, Su Ning has also seen online tourism this subdivision area.

And Ctrip appears desolate many. The first quarter of this year, Ctrip's total operating income of 964 million yuan, an increase of 18%, the same period operating profit fell 33% year-on-year decline of 23%. Ctrip's share price fell to around $16 from a high of $45 last July, more than the overall trend of China's concept stocks.

From the revenue point of view, Ctrip is still the industry leader eldest brother, but from the profit to see OTA but scenery no longer. But Ctrip does not want to give up this field, a shot of 500 million dollars, to be in the "6 months, not more than a year to see", so that the entire industry return to rationality.

Ctrip in charge in the south are interviewed by reporters said, Ctrip is the industry's most qualified to fight the price of the enterprise. "Companies without a certain market share will not be able to fight the price war or affect the industry." Second, Ctrip has a wealth of product lines and one-stop service, used to fight the price of the resource mix is also deployed properly, such as the hotel, air tickets, travel and vacation will participate in Low-cost promotions, this is not available to competitors. ”

Hotel business is the main battlefield

But now it's not easy. Compared with the "rule of the Game", which was supposed to be 10 years ago, the market now has more participants and more capital power.

Take the hotel to order for example, this is Teng State international Vice President Zhang Duo as "price transparency is lower, profit space is bigger, supplier dependence degree is more strong" field, has been the main battlefield of Ota mode.

2009, the art of the introduction of hotel booking discount activities, after the introduction of the various families of group buying, Lastminute (sales of the remaining rooms per night) and other new models, are greatly to resolve the advantages of Ctrip. According to the Art Dragon NET data show, December 2011 Art Dragon Group Purchase hotel break through 100,000 night, ranked first in the domestic, is the same time the hotel group purchase Volume 4 times times.

The intensification of competition has changed the ecology of the industry. Last October, Ctrip also launched a similar "return to the present discount" activities. Teng Bang International Vice President Zhang Duo to the South reporters said that the hotel products of the homogeneity of high, so consumers for the price sensitivity is very high. "To the current popular return as an example, the same hotel product prices vary little, so the return will be to consumers to play a role, and to adhere to the consumer's next consumption." ”

and whether to return to the present, the test is the site's own endurance. "The difference in the rate of Commission is 10-20 Yuan/room/night, the return is certainly caused by the decline in profits." "One of the chain hotel owners told reporters. But even if the wool was not on the sheep, the hotel would not have been so fancy for orders from Ota. "The hotel operators fancy brand, self-construction website, customer loyalty will be higher; in the long run, self-improvement profits, but also can get rid of third party control. "The owner admits that after the price war, the parties to the hotel resources for the competition intensified, but the price control is declining."

To Ctrip in the first quarter of this year's hotel booking business income for example, although the year-on-year growth of 18%, the growth mainly from the hotel booking volume of 21% year-on-year growth, but was a year-on-year decline in the income of 3% partial offset.

And even for those single hotels that don't have a membership system, OTA mode is also facing challenges from search engines. Where are you going? The network attempts through "the hotel through train marketing", gives the hotel that does not have the website to provide the page, the revenue management and so on a complete set of system, thus lets them enter the network reservation market, strengthens the direct battalion ability.

Where are you going? "The current situation is that hotels are too dependent on OTA to control their pricing rights and their own marketing rights," said Zhungchengsu, CEO of the network. But the future of the hotel's online marketing will be diversified, the proportion of direct sales will rise sharply. "Up to now, where to cover more than 210,000 hotel information."

In the face of various price wars and the challenges of new models, OTA industry is facing the survival pressure. Zhang Duo said the contradiction in the industry is that capital markets demand high revenues and profits. "Ota is marked as an Internet enterprise, and Internet enterprises to solve is ' high growth ', this is the price war suddenly in the last year, each family snatch market share to do large-scale reasons." ”

Ota is now in a dilemma, despite adequate ammunition, but for the front-end users of the competition, has spread to search engines, electric business platform, proprietary systems and other fields. The price system of the suppliers of tourism products is being constantly subverted and the profit model of the high profit is no longer. Facing the double examination of scale and profit, a lot of OTA enterprises under the sharp eyes of capital market are waiting to break the dilemma.